If you didn’t know that Professor Trey Mireles was the 2014 recipient of the Excellence in Teaching award from CAP (Council for Accelerated Programs), don’t expect him to bring you up to speed.  “I found myself using the conference as an opportunity to become an even better educator rather than focusing on the fact that I had won the award.”

Yes, that is the kind of educator Mr. Trey Mireles is. A psychology instructor at Madison College, Mireles enjoys improving his teaching methodology. While some teachers would accept the award and then either fly right back home, or get rowdy in Denver, Colorado.  Mireles humbly accepted his award, and later, went to a quiet restaurant in downtown Denver with fellow colleagues in-tow to discuss the upcoming school semester.

Each year, CAP awards three facility members in this demanding category.  On it’s website it states, “Winners demonstrate excellence in their ability to relate to students, to encourage students as learners, to change students to reach their maximum performance, and to make the learning relevant and meaningful.  Winners have also made significant contributions to the wider academic community.” (capnetwork.org) When I asked Professor Mireles, a psychology instructor at Madison College, what he had done to be recognized not only for the teaching aspect of the award but the “contributions to the wider academic community” part, he replied:

“The two largest projects I’ve undertaken have involved educating other instructors on how to use active and accelerated teaching methods and strategies in their classrooms and using this as a starting point to create a community of educators who believe in these methods. [In turn, this has evolved into a] redeveloping [of] training for the Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning and [the process of] this training.

“Working with the School of Arts and Sciences to increase the number of courses offered in an Accelerated format and developing, contributing to and being the editor of the Flexible Learning Newsletter which is distributed to faculty monthly during the school year.”

Professor Mireles understands that technology is the new way of not only communicating but also learning.  Contrary to some “old school” teachers, Mireles doesn’t demand for his students to conform to a specific way of thinking while they are being taught.  Because he embraces the new and different “visions” of the modern era, Mireles is able to succeed where other teachers have failed.  He has the ability to access the level of his students, then adjusts and/or adapts himself where he can be eye-to-eye to his pupils.  By doing, what some might call, this mundane approach, makes a world of difference.  Coexisting learning exceeds the students in a more effective and efficient way; while, Professor Mireles is also given attribute for his contributions.

How did Trey (Felix) Mireles become so good?  Well, as he had told me, it wasn’t an easy road or a hard one.  While attending UW-Madison in hopes of being a child psychiatrist, he took a philosophy course during his senior year, and it wasn’t the material that changed his discernment, it was the professor, Daniel Pekarsky.

“He called me into his office and asked me why I was wasting my time and money on an education I wasn’t taking advantage of? In that conversation I changed my perspective and realized that college was more than a stepping-stone to a job and the real world but an opportunity to learn and better myself….. That class not only changed my path as a student but it probably [has] had the most significant influence on my teaching style.”

Wow.  Now, not only should we thank Mr. Mireles for his continuous contributions to the academic society, we must also thank UW Professor Daniel Pekarsky.  Typically, wonderful teachers are, well, wonderful because they have come into contact with great teachers that plant the seed for the continuous pattern of wonderful teachers.

Please help me congratulate Professor Trey Mireles for receiving the award for Excellence in Teaching by doing just that! As you may remember from my introduction, Mireles is too humble to congratulate himself.